Student-athletes are almost required to go to college. It is rare for kids to not go, because there are few examples of guys not participating in the cartel and being able to get a chance at the next level. Frankly, the major sports leagues should have their own minor leagues that can take high school graduates. We are prostituting education by allowing some of these kids in, and then we have the nerve to deny them the rights available to every other student on campus.
If a college education is so valuable, why is it that EVERY OTHER KID ON SCHOLARSHIP IS ALLOWED TO PROFIT FROM THEIR TALENT IN ANY WAY THEY SEE FIT? I was on a full tuition ride, no one had the guts to tell me that I couldn't go out and make money off of the talent that got me said scholarship. I knew kids that were talented at music and were banking as session musicians and even in some cases toured with artists during the summer. Guess what? No one threatened their scholarship.
What's even more rich is you pulling the "College Education is more than enough compensation" Card, while not admitting that in most revenue sports, most of these kids aren't really receiving worthwhile educations. You really think someone like Zion Williamson really learned anything from his one semester of showing up to classes at Duke? It was a waste of everyone's time, but Coach K, Nike and everyone else profited, while Zion had to hide what compensation he received. If a college education really mattered, a school like UNC would have been banned from athletics for denying their student athletes the one compensation they should be receiving, a quality education. Instead, the NCAA throws their regulatory weight behind ensuring that a kid doesn't get a free lunch or a some free gear. Even a kid selling their own gear or memorabilia is a problem, but kids leaving without the ability to read isn't. If one looks at the actions of the NCAA and member institutions, it's obvious that education is a secondary goal, revenue maximization is what the organization truly cares about. The easiest way to maximize their revenue is to limit the largest revenue drain on any organization and that is paying the labor force.
Why do you think that players organizing is so dangerous? They know that student-athletes, most of whom are thinly disguised employees would be able to demand and receive compensation for their work and that cuts into the administrators and coaches' salaries. Just remember the following: The whole point of the NCAA coming up with the term student-athlete was to prevent these young people from qualifying for workers compensation if they were seriously injured. It had nothing to do with them receiving an education. In fact, education was never truly considered, hence why grade fixing and whatnot barely draws any notice from the regulatory body.
The best explanation of the NCAA's nonsense I've ever seen came from John Oliver, so I'm including his succinct synopsis of the problem.